


asteria prep

by feychella



Series: treasured wings [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Campaign: Graduation (The Adventure Zone), F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25006057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feychella/pseuds/feychella
Summary: Althea and Barb meet for the first time again.
Relationships: Althea Song & Bloodhawk Barb, Bloodhawk Barb/Althea Song
Series: treasured wings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814374
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. history class

**Author's Note:**

> Angelhawk rules every brain cell I have left. Have this.
> 
> Your comments are appreciated. :)

It was Althea’s first day of school.

More importantly, it was her first day of high school at the most prestigious, all-girls magnet school in the city - Asteria Prep. Everyone here would go on to become a Hero or a Villain, eventually. Althea desperately wanted to be a Hero just like Headmistress Asteria. A friendly skeleton hands her a red and black cheerleading uniform and waves her towards the changing room. Althea quickly gets dressed and stomps out in her dark platform boots, flipping her orange hair over her shoulder, feeling more confident already. Finally, she feels a sense of belonging. One year ago today, she was entering her last year of junior high, without her best friend. She thinks back to that fateful Sunday night with Barb as she walks through the arcing halls of her new school.

\-------

"You _know_ I like him! Why would you go on a date with him?”

“Althea, there are other things we could be arguing about. The date didn’t _mean_ anything, anyway. Besides, I’m leaving tomorrow.” Barb flips her dark hair over her shoulder and cocks her head at Althea imploringly.

That’s right. Barb was moving away the next day, further outside of the city, to a new school. Althea would be alone for the first time in eight years. They’d been friends since birth, their parents were friends, they did _everything_ together. Althea stands in her living room, arms crossed in the typical middle-schooler way, refusing to look at her.

"We can talk about this later. I promise, nothing happened between me and Michael.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Althea can't stand looking into Barb's hazel eyes, full of pain at their argument. They never argued like this, not over _boys._ This time it was different. Barb was leaving, for good, tomorrow. And Althea would be alone. She hated being alone, she couldn't _stand_ the thought of not having Barb by her side.

“Can we finish our movie night?”

“No, I actually think I’m going to go to bed. I’ll see you around.” Althea turns around and runs up the stairs, tears already coming to her eyes.

“Althea? Althea!” Barb is left calling after her, fists balled at her sides as she stands awkwardly in the middle of Althea’s home. The door downstairs clicks shut as she leaves and Althea slams her bedroom door shut, hugging a pillow to her chest and trying not to cry. It was unfair, of course, but she was angry. She was angry at Barb for leaving her alone, especially since it was their last first day of middle school. She eventually fell asleep, blankets piled around her, heart still aching.

\-------

Althea rolls her eyes. She broke up with her best friend over a _boy._ How stupid. Michael had even left her school that year, so she didn’t have to see his handsome face every day. Dating was just a distraction, anyway. There were no boys here at Asteria Prep, unless they teamed up with their brother school (Bramblethorn High) for sports games. All she needed to do was survive high school, then she’d be able to pursue her dreams of becoming a cleric. Studying her map, she chews on her lips as she turns around in the hallway. She was in the Cleric Concentration, which meant she was taking prerequisites for the cleric path at Hieronymous Wiggenstaff’s. 

Of course, she had to take the core classes with other concentration students - history and potions. Room 160...it was definitely on this floor. She stands in the hallway for a few seconds before a huge group of rowdy girls walks by, chattering and making noise. The other cheerleaders wave at them and Althea's back slams against a locker as they pass her. She brushes herself off and waves at the team too, even though she wasn’t sure who they were. Most of these girls had gone to school together for years. Even though everyone wore a uniform (except for football players and cheerleaders during game weeks), she still felt like an outsider.

Althea counts the girls, trying to figure out who everyone was. There are eleven of them, all wearing bright red and black varsity jackets, with _AP_ sewn into their breast pockets. _So this must be the famous Asteria Prep football team._ None of the other schools for girls had a football team, so Asteria Prep was the best in the league. They played against girls from other cities and were usually recruited in middle school. The girl at the head of the group was obviously the captain. She has shiny, black shoulder-length hair, stood just a little taller than Althea, and bobs her head enthusiastically at the rest of her team. Althea starts towards the other cheerleaders when she sees the captain’s face more clearly.

Barb. She’s right there, less than five feet away from Althea. When she looks up, her brown eyes lose their glimmer of happiness as she stares at Althea, shocked. Her friends twitter and Barb turns around, smile returning to her face as she waves goodbye, walking into Room 160 with her books in hand. Althea talks to the other girls on the team - there was Ginger the Necromancer, Thistle the Druid...but her thoughts wander back to Barb. Should she try to talk to her? Does Barb even want to talk to her?

She clears her mind as she walks into history, taking her assigned seat from the board. _Great._ Barb sits to her right, Ginger to her left. Her old best friend chatters to the girls behind her, who all crack up in a loud chorus of laughter. Althea slings her bag around her chair and fumbles with her pencil pouch, trying to grab for a black pen. The contents of the bag spill all over the floor and the room goes silent. Barb turns to her and looks down at the mess around her feet. She picks up a fistful of pencils and pens and hands them to Althea, already returning to her previous conversation.

When their hands touch, Althea feels a jolt of electricity go through her entire body. She immediately feels jittery, looking at Barb again. Maybe they could be friends again. But Barb was so popular here, and they’d been away from each other for so long...surely she’d have other best friends. A new best friend, a replacement. Althea kicks herself as she cleans up and class begins. The teacher drones on about something and Althea’s pen moves across the paper without her thinking. She sneaks glances at Barb, whose knee is bouncing in a familiar nervous way as she takes notes. Barb had never taken notes, not in their whole school career. A lot can change in a year. She turns her attention back to the teacher.

“When was magic discovered? Miss Song?”

Althea snaps to attention, body rigid with fear. She hadn’t been paying attention at all - the class was almost over, and she'd been staring at...at - she clears her throat and starts her answer. _Think, Althea, think._

“Uh…”

“Around 2,000 years ago, Miss Holly,” Barb says, finally looking at her. _Easy miss,_ her eyes seem to say. They share a glance, Althea wills her face to say _thank you_ , and the teacher nods at Barb, scribbling something on the board with colorful markers.

Sitting next to Barb is a distraction, always had been. The way her dark hair falls around her face and how she refuses to tie it back because she's too stubborn to admit when she's having trouble. History was obviously still one of her favorite classes - Althea could tell by the way she raises her hand in a nonchalant way and answers the question with full confidence, trying to seem laid back. Captain of the football team and she didn't even tell Althea. That stung a little bit, but they weren't talking, so she lets it go. Just like she's let so much go already.

Her thoughts wander back to Michael. _He probably goes to Bramblethorn._ She pushes him far from her mind and shakes her head, putting her orange hair into a loose bun. Barb stops whispering to the girl behind her and looks at Althea for a split second, mouth still hanging open. Althea pretends not to notice, sitting up straighter and pretending to smile at the teacher's joke to make up for her lapse of attention earlier. Getting distracted was no good for her, especially if she wanted to be the best Hero she could. She could feel Barb's hazel eyes on her - or was that just her imagination? _She still taps her fingers on the desk when she’s thinking about something_. Althea smiles to herself and the bell rings for passing. Barb stands and slings her varsity jacket over her shoulder, still talking to the girls behind her.

Her next class was Potions, on floor 3. Rushing up the stairs, she hears Barb call her name once, and then no more as she’s swept away by the crowd of girls chattering. She huffs into her seat in Potions, taking care to note the teacher’s name - Miss Dede - and waving hello to Thistle, the sprightly druid bouncing towards her. Thistle flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and rests her head on the desk, letting out a fake sigh of frustration.

“Hey Thistle. How was your first class?”

“Eh, it was fine. Vera’s phone kept blowing up. Boyfriend at Bramblethorn,” Thistle says, rolling her eyes. “We definitely work harder than those _boys_.”

“It’s only our first day!”

“Hey, school pride. What about you? Anyone catch your eye?” She leans forward and bats her lashes.

 _Yes._ But it wasn’t a boy at Bramblethorn. So Althea shakes her head. “No one, at least not _yet_. Who knows, maybe tonight I’ll meet the love of my life.” Thistle throws her head back and lets out a bark of laughter. 

“You’re funny. I’m glad you’re on the team. Some of these other girls don’t appreciate a good laugh.” Thistle’s voice is in a low whisper, conspiratorial, and the whole ridiculousness of it all makes Althea laugh too. She adjusts her uniform and runs some basic routines through her head. She was confident in her ability to be on the sidelines, but Barb would be there tonight. _Distraction._

She doesn’t even notice when Barb takes a seat in the back row, looking nervous, twiddling her pen between her fingers. Althea convinces herself that she’s okay. She lets Thistle run her fingers through her undone hair, giggling with newfound confidence, warmth rising up in her chest. A little scrap of paper slides over onto her desk with a smily face and a heart. _Love, Thistle._ Glancing up, Althea stares at the druid next to her, who is purposely avoiding eye contact. _Everyone here is so friendly._ The two look at each other and she tries to hold back a snort of laughter. The teacher glares at them and she tries to quiet down, smile still on her faces. Thistle winks at Althea, who flushes and tries to pay attention to class. Making friends would be good for her. _  
_

How hard could high school be, anyway?


	2. stupid games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Althea punches an old classmate, Thistle falls in love, and Barb stumbles into the end zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *points at Althea* I just think she's neat. 
> 
> Your comments are appreciated. :)

Miss Dede had a penchant for rattling on about some potion or another on a tangent for twenty minutes, so Althea pens a note to Thistle. Her friend reads it and a small mischievous smile curves her lips as she tosses another scrap of paper on Althea’s desk. Althea pockets it as the teacher turns around, glancing at Thistle who has a fake sad face on. She would read it later in her dorm room. Miss Dede wasn't too kind on note passers.

“Partner projects, this week. You will be researching and creating a potion apropos to the level of those discussed in the lesson today.”

Barb raises her hand. “Can we choose our partners?” The girls twitter around her, laughing, and she throws a smile at one of her friends like she knows something no one else does. 

“No, you may not. It’s your first day of school, and you all should try to make new friends.”

Althea rolls her eyes. Teachers _always_ said they should try to make new friends as if everyone didn’t already have pre-determined friend groups that they had known for forever. She zones out as Dede calls out names in pairs. Thistle gets paired off with some football player and she groans internally. The one person she knows, she can’t even get to know better. No matter, she’d see her in the dorms later. 

“Althea and Barb. That’s everyone. I expect papers on my desk by next Monday morning. Class dismissed,” Dede says, erasing the board as everyone files out of the room, muttering to each other on their way to their next class.

Althea sits there, words still echoing around her head. _Barb?_ It was just her luck to get partnered with her ex-best friend. She looks up as a shadow falls across her desk. Barb has both hands resting on Althea’s desk, leaning forwards, curls spilling over her collarbones...Althea’s gaze meets Barb’s and they both stare at each other for what seems like a long time, _too long._ Barb clears her throat and boosts herself up onto Althea’s desk, knocking pens off around her boots.

“What are we doing, Song?” Her voice is low and sends shivers down Althea’s spine. She _must_ be on the villain track. How else would she have practiced that? 

“Uh...why don’t you swing by my room on Friday? We can discuss it there. Floor 9, room 901.” Althea tries not to look at Barb’s face as she nods, brows furrowed.

The rest of the week flies by and Althea has Barb’s voice playing on repeat in her head. Did she do everything right? Everything was accounted for except for when, exactly, Barb would show up at her room on Friday. She showers back in the dorms and pads over to her room, dripping water behind her. The evening light shines through the windows and warms the room. Drawing the blinds closed, she hums to herself as she gets dressed. A few quick knocks on the door snap her out of her reverie. _Ginger?_

“Coming!” She pats herself down one more time and takes a deep breath. Fingers trembling, she whips the door open to reveal Barb, standing in her uniform, weighed down with a load of books from the library. “Barb!” Althea grabs the books from her and plops down onto her bed. Maybe they could talk now - the room was empty, Ginger was gone, they were _alone._ She stares blankly at Barb as she sits hesitantly on the edge of the deep blue bedspread.

“What potion were you thinking?” Barb fidgets with the blankets and looks away from Althea, flinging open the curtains with one hand to let the natural light filter into the room. They’re both dancing around the conversation - Barb’s eyes are distracted and Althea is trying to focus on the words in front of her. Slamming the book shut, she looks up at Barb.

“We need to talk first.”

“About…?”

“Uh, our fight?”

“Althea, I’m not mad at you. Actually, you were completely right about Michael. I shouldn’t have gone out with him. But between you and me, he wasn’t a very good kisser.”

“You kissed him?” Althea falls onto her pillows giggling.

“No, _he kissed me._ God, it was so bad. I think he goes to Bramblethorn, now, though. We’ll see him tonight.” Barb laughs too, weary look leaving her eyes, replaced with some sort of...adoration? Admiration? _When she looks at me, her eyes change._ They soften at the edges as she wipes the tears off of her face.

“Okay, I’m glad we’re friends again.”

“Put _best_ in front of _friends_ and you got it, girlie.” Barb winks and opens her book again. Althea’s heart rate speeds up as she braids Barb’s dark hair and reads over her shoulder. It slows to a normal pace as Barb snaps the books shut and looks up at her.

“What potion are we doing?” Althea echoes at her childhood best friend.

“I was thinking...potion of wisdom?”

“I’ll need that,” Althea snorts before glancing at the clock. “Oh my god! We need to be at the field, like, three minutes ago. Hurry up!”

“Don’t you need to get dressed?”

Althea glances down and realizes she’s still in her pajamas. _Fuck._ Throwing off her sleep clothes, she changes into her uniform and bursts out the door where Barb is waiting for her. They race down the hallway. Barb starts sprinting towards the fields until she notices that Althea is not behind her. Huffing, Althea tries to speedwalk as fast as she can. Barb circles around, grunting, and picks Althea up, running even faster. They whiz by Ginger, Thistle, Vera, and the rest of the cheerleaders. Barb races straight towards her team and Althea puts her arms around her neck. By the time she sets her down, they’re both breathing hard. 

“Hey! Where were you?” Her cheer squad stares at her with wide eyes. She brushes herself off and straightens her back. This is what she's meant to do.

Althea looks over at Barb, who smiles at her. “Studying.” Ginger _oooh_ s and Thistle slings an arm around her shoulder. They would be performing at halftime, so Althea shakes her pom-poms around. A tall boy with dark hair bounds towards them and Vera flings herself into his arms. They share a kiss that goes on just long enough to make everyone uncomfortable, and then Michael pulls away. Thistle gives him a flirty smile and Althea stares dumbfounded at him. _Michael….Vera’s boyfriend?_

"Hey, Althea. How’s _Barb_?”

“What?”

“I heard you had some sort of fight. I don’t blame you for it though, I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like her either.” He laughs and Vera shifts awkwardly. Ginger puts a hand on Althea’s shoulder.

“Say that again.” Her mind reels. Barb was gay? She hadn’t come out to Althea yet, not that she blamed her, but _how_ did Michael even know? Actually, how did Michael know that they’d had a falling out? She rips a hair tie out of her hair, letting her auburn locks fall around her shoulders. _Say it again. Say it again._ She dares him. Ginger senses a change in her attitude and tries to step in front of Althea.

“I _said,_ I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like her. You know what I mean…”

Althea shrugs Ginger’s hand off. Taking a step forward, she swings at Michael’s face, determined to wipe the smug smile off of it. Thistle leaps forward and Althea dodges away, landing a solid punch on Michael’s jaw. The force of the blow causes him to stagger back and Vera pushes Althea backward. She shakes her hand out, knuckles stinging, satisfied. She marches up to the other boy and grabs his tie, yanking him down to her level.

“Don’t _ever_ say something like that again about her, you hear me? You’re not going to be lucky next time,” she hisses, pushing him to the ground. 

Vera steps forward. “We’re over, Michael. Get out of here.” She’s trembling and Althea falls into her arms. The team huddles around the two of them as they cling to each other. Michael scuttles away as the crowd surges to their feet, popcorn and screams falling from their mouth. 

Althea tears her eyes away from the other cheerleaders and watches Barb run down the field and tumble into the end zone. _Touchdown!_ reads the air above them in bright sparkling letters. he end of the game leaves Althea exhausted. Asteria Prep had won, but instead of celebrating, she decides to walk back to her dorm. Thistle walks beside her, in the dark, she can't tell what the other girl is thinking.

“Hey, what you did today was really brave. No one ever stands up to the Bramblethorn boys.”

“At least the administrators didn’t catch me.”

Thistle gestures to the door to the dorm. As they walk into the elevator, Althea turns to Thistle, who nervously glances around the room. Her eyes are distracted, like Barb's earlier, and she refuses to look at Althea. She looks kind of sick, too. Althea steps forward, hands reaching out, to do what, she didn't know.

“You okay?”

“I like you.”

“You... _what?”_ She hardly knew Thistle. Hell, this was their first week of school together. How could she have a crush on her already?

“Um, I like you.” Thistle’s closer now, the elevator _dings_ to Floor 9. They step out and start walking. Putting her hand on the doorknob, she takes a deep breath, assessing the situation. She couldn't punch her way out of this one, of course, but it was so _complicated._

Thistle was sweet, caring - she was a druid, after all - and classically beautiful. There was something off-putting about her, though, to Althea. Maybe it was her green eyes, or how straightforward and honest she was. Or the way she wasn’t….she wasn’t Barb _._ She stops in her tracks. _Do I like Barb?_ The thought rushes away as she turns around. 

“I’ll see you around, Althea. Uh, sorry, about all this. I thought you...from the notes? You totally don’t have to-”

Althea puts her hands around Thistle’s neck and draws her closer, kissing her. It was different than her other kisses - softer, warmer, gentler. Thistle braces herself against the door and they get absorbed in each other. _What am I doing?_ This was _Thistle,_ on her cheerleading team, and it was only the first week of school. _First week of school and I’m running around kissing people._ When Thistle leans back, Althea glances down the hallway. Barb and her team are standing there, hollering at each other, but she makes eye contact with Barb. Her dark hair is shining in the fluorescent light and she’s staring right at Althea, a sad look in her usually bright eyes. Althea leans against the door and opens it, stumbling backward into the dorm room and dragging Thistle behind her. She didn’t like it when Barb looked at her like that. 

“Uh...does this mean…?”

“Thistle, I’m sorry. I don’t like you like that.” She pushes her away. _This is so out of character._ Althea fumbles with her coat, hanging it up, and a small piece of paper flutters to the ground. _Thistle's note._ She should have read it earlier this week, to prepare herself, but-

“But you just-?”

“Can you leave? Please?” Althea opens the door. Thistle stands rigid in the door, blonde hair pulled back and off her delicate face. Her eyes reflect shock and heartbreak. “I’m sorry…” she whispers as Thistle walks through the door. Althea knows that she's going to have to fix this eventually, but tonight, all she can do is hold the door open, gripping the handle for dear life. Emotion pulses through her body and she swallows hard.

“Bye, Althea.” Thistle’s voice was final. Closing the door, Althea shuts her eyes and tries to will the tears away. _Who was she?_ Why was she so mean to her? She had a nagging suspicion that it had something to do with Barb. But Barb didn't control Althea's emotions and reactions. Ginger sweeps out of the room to take a shower and Althea sits awake, staring out the window and poring over the books before her. Barb’s pained eyes flash through the forefront of her memory as she falls into a restless sleep.


	3. lab partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barb and Althea finally work on their assignment.

The next evening, Althea walks into the lab. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing Barb again, _especially_ not after last night. _Maybe she didn’t actually see us._ The lie reverberates around her head and she pushes it far from her mind. Althea just needs to focus on her school work.

She braids her auburn hair back and shakes her hands out, waiting for Barb to arrive. Checking her watch, she huffs and slams a book open irritably. Barb was probably off somewhere, with her football friends, forgetting about her. It was silly of her to think that they would click again, that they’d be best friends _again._ Barb skids into the room, holding two tall drinks and kicking herself up into the lab stool. She’s still wearing her black varsity jacket, over a golden crop top that stands out against her skin. Althea tears her eyes away and stares at her textbook.

"Sorry I’m late. Thought I would get us some drinks.”

“You...no you’re fine! Uh, I wasn’t doing much. Just got our stuff out, you know. Anyway-”

Barb shoves the drink towards Althea's mouth. With a small glow of warmth, she sips her drink. Barb still remembered her favorite. They hold each other’s gaze for a beat too long and Barb sweeps her hair off her neck and ties it up in a tight bun. Althea gets distracted by Barb’s lips as she swipes chapstick over them. She looks up at Althea, who starts, as if she’s been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. Raising an eyebrow, Barb twiddles a pencil between her fingers and starts working on their calculations. Althea tries to help but if she’s being honest, she’s not very good at math. 

“So...you and Thistle?”

"That’s your small talk?”

“Hey, if we’re going to be friends again, you should tell me about these things.”

“Nothing is going on between me and Thistle.”

“Last night didn’t look like nothing.”

Althea knows that Barb is just teasing her, but there’s something else behind her words. A barely concealed jealousy, a certain venom backing her statements. She's never heard Barb talk like this before. It was unnerving, to be sure.

“I saw Michael last night.”

Barb scoffs. “And?”

“I punched him.”

“You- _what_?” Her partner throws the pencil down and stares at her, hazel eyes wide. “Damn, I didn’t know you had it in you, Song.”

"Shut up.”

“You can’t make me.” Barb sticks her tongue out and keeps working. Althea stares at the patterns on her cheeks from the light filtering through her lashes. Barb was quite pretty, if she thought about it. 

“Barb…?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you...do you really, um, do you actually like- well, do you like...girls?” _Perfect._ She kicks herself under the table and busies her hands with the little cauldron, starting the burner and heating their mixture up. Barb gets closer to her and Althea looks up - they’re so close, almost nose-to-nose - to see her pour a vial of golden liquid into the pot.

“Uh...yeah. Yeah, I like girls.” Barb’s eyes glitter with unshed tears. _Why is she crying?_

“Um...me too, I think.”

"When did you find out?” Barb still won’t look at her and the back of Althea’s neck pricks with annoyance. _She won’t even look at me._

"Uh...last night.”

“Really?”

“I mean, it’s always been in the back of my mind. But last night just felt...right. You know?”

“I wouldn’t know. Haven’t kissed anyone.”

“Wait, what about Michael?”

“He kissed me. And I pushed him away and ran to your house, remember?”

“I do.” 

The cauldron bubbles and sparks, glowing bright red. They share a hopeful look and Barb dips a vial into the mixture, corking it just before it explodes. Althea squeals and falls backwards. Barb turns and catches her, shielding Althea with her body. Her dark hair veils her face and Althea reaches up to brush it away. Barb looks down at Althea, still dumbfounded under her, and helps her to her feet. Althea’s skin warms wherever Barb touches her and she replays the sensation as they clean up. Sliding her gloves on, she watches Barb wipe the countertop off and soon enough, they’re done. 

“Um...me and Thistle, we’re not a thing.”

“Oh?”

“No, there’s actually something I wanted to ask you-” _Here we go._ Althea clears her throat as Barb straightens her back and checks her speaking stone. Her eyes nearly shoot out of her head as she grabs her backpack and slings it over her shoulder.

“Can you ask me later? Coach just moved practice up.”

“Oh! Yeah, I can-”

“Love you, bye!” 

Barb races out of the building and leaves Althea standing in the middle of the lab. She trudges towards the dining hall, settling into a seat and grabbing her laptop out of her silverish pack. Althea munches on fruit as she types up the lab report, printing it and making her way to Miss Dede’s classroom. Peeking inside, she sees Miss Holly holding a small canteen of soup and laughing. _That’s odd._ She knocks on the door, retreating into the hallway. Miss Dede presses a kiss on Miss Holly’s cheek and stands in front of Althea.

“Uh, Miss Dede! I just, uh, I just wanted to give you Barb’s paper. Our paper. Barb and I’s paper. Anyways, here you go. Have a good weekend!”

"Thank you, Althea-" Dede stands in the hall as Althea rushes away.

She shuts the door to her dorm room and sighs. Ginger isn’t in - she rarely is - so she has some time to herself. Miss Holly and Miss Dede were dating? Or were they married? Her heart swells when she thinks about them. So it was possible, then, to live to become a famous hero and marry the person you love. Althea smiles, pressing her hands to her face to feel it, and sinks to her knees. She and Barb could be just like them! Of course, that required her asking Barb out on a date. Sitting at her desk, she composes a note.

_Dear Barb..._


	4. crossed swords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Althea, Thistle, and Barb get paired together as sparring partners. It doesn't go well.

The fall fades into winter, and soon enough, Candlenights break comes. Althea’s family wrote sporadically at the beginning of the semester, at the end, notes imploring her to come home and introduce her friends to them. Sighing to herself, she surveys the little dorm room, snow drifting lazily past the giant window by her bed. Ginger is cozied up in a sweater and shorts, huddled in a blanket and reviewing her notes. A cinnamon-scented candle overpowers the room and Althea smiles as she locks the door behind her. She and Ginger had been getting along better lately - she’d even told her about the thing with Thistle.

As she walks to class, the snow starts coming down harder. She shivers and tugs on her hoodie strings. Althea hadn’t counted on it being _this_ cold here. She slams the door to the main building open and rushes towards her newest, least favorite class. Dueling. At least, everyone called it dueling, it was really named...arena specialty or something like that. Althea wasn’t any good at it, and she was _not_ about to ask for help. Clerics wouldn’t need to know these skills, right? She focuses on her healing classes and prays that it’ll be enough for when she’s a fully fledged hero.

Barb is talking to the instructor and Althea slings her bag off her shoulder. She slips her hoodie off and ties her tee shirt at the edge. Last time, she had made the mistake of just wearing the hoodie. She shudders at the memory and throws her hair back into a bun. _I can do this._ The teacher claps their hands together and sweeps to the front of the class.

“Hello, class.”

"Hello, Mx. Bryn.” The chorus of voices rises like ghosts around Althea. She shivers. _Something isn't right here._ Althea dismisses the feeling. No, she was safe here.

“Your partners are listed over there.” They point to the wall at the far end of the arena. The rubber mats squeak as all fifteen students race to see if they’ve gotten partnered with their friends. Althea pushes her way to the front and groans.

_Althea Song - Thistle Greenleaf - Bairbre Whisperwind_

Great. The two people she didn’t want to be together with...Barb taps her on the shoulder and hands her a practice sword. She nods, tying it to her waist and Thistle bounces up, sword already in hand. She shakes hands with Barb goodnaturedly and doesn’t look at Althea.

“Uh...so who’s taking Althea?”

Her head snaps up and she stares at Barb with her mouth open. _What?_ Barb wasn’t _really_ going to pair her up with Thistle first, right? Barb’s face doesn’t change and Thistle steps forward.

Althea brushes herself off and unsheathes her sword. Holding it unsteadily, she makes a jab at Thistle, who side-steps and leaps at her. Althea lets out a shaky breath and tries again. Their swords clang off of each other, sparks flying, and Mx. Bryn starts walking towards them. Thistle parries and swings on Althea, who barely blocks it in time. Bryn starts walking faster. Sweat pours off of her and she kicks Thistle in the chest - definitely not a move that she was taught in class. She’s vaguely aware of Bryn blowing the emergency whistle, and white magic crackles around her fists as she grips the sword, more sure of herself now. She advances on Thistle, who scrambles backwards, fear in her eyes. 

And then Barb is there, hand slamming into Althea’s shoulder, forcing her backwards. The other students stare and Bryn’s fingers dig into her arm as she throws her into the hallway. Gulping nervously, she looks at the prone figure of Thistle and takes a deep breath. _She’ll be okay._ Barb helps her to her feet and Thistle rubs her head, glancing back at Althea. Begrudging respect flashes in her eyes before the door slams shut and Mx. Bryn bears down on her.

“Miss Song, do you want to explain to me what just happened?”

“I-I’m _so_ sorry, I didn’t mean for it to happen that way! We just got paired up, and so, well, I don’t think I understood the assignment all the way - I thought it was defense? - but maybe it wasn't, and-”

“For God’s sake, child, stop rambling. You’ve earned yourself a solid two weeks of detention. Don’t be late.” 

Bryn opens the door and gestures Althea back into the arena. The other students are sparring now, and she walks up to where Barb and Thistle are standing. Barb laughs at something she says before seeing Althea. Her brows furrow with worry at the look on her face. _Worry for me?_ She shakes the thought away. _I’m reading too much into it._ Just because they were both attracted to girls didn’t mean that Barb liked her like that. Even though she _definitely_ liked Barb like that…

“Let’s dance, Song.” Barb flashes her a wicked grin.

They block each other, moving almost in sync, like some sort of horrible dance. Her mother’s words flash through her head. _Violence isn’t the answer._ But when she held the sword in her hand, she felt powerful. So she pushes that part of her mind away and races at Barb instead. _I can’t let her win._ Her partner springs forward, knocking her to the ground. Thistle whistles at the two of them as they meet each other blow-for-blow, eventually drawing away, panting hard. The white magic crackles at the edge of her vision and Althea dismisses it. It instantly flickers out and she stands there, dumbfounded. Her magic had never actually obeyed her before. Barb pushes her away, shoving the tip of her sword under Althea’s chin. Her back is flat against the wall and they’re both breathing hard. Barb makes eye contact with her and tension crackles between them. _I win,_ her eyes seem to say.

Althea cleans herself up and starts for the door after class ends. Mx. Bryn hands Thistle a detention slip on the way out. 

“Althea, wait up!” Sure enough, Thistle is trailing behind her. “So...we need to talk. Like soon.”

“About…?”

“Um, that night at the football game? You’ve been avoiding me and it’s been like, three months. So…” Thistle flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and bats her lashes at Althea, pouting.

“I really have to get back to my dorm. I’ll see you in detention.” Althea steels herself and walks away, slipping on the ice in her boots. Barb races after her, eager to walk her to the dorm and soon enough, they stand in the falling snow before the doors of her building. Althea stares at Barb, Barb stares back, and suddenly her heart swells with affection for her friend.

“Uh, sorry, about your detention thing. I didn’t know that pairing y’all together so fast would result in that.”

“No...uh, you’re fine.” Althea kicks the snow at her feet and Barb smiles at her. Oh, that smile. _Is this what falling in love is like?_ She shivers with the cold and Barb drapes her cardigan over her shoulders, patting her arms to make sure that it fit properly. 

She stands there, swaddled in Barb’s coat, snow sticking to her eyelashes, and looks up at her friend. Their breath fogs up the air together, and Barb pretends to hold a cigarette in her fingers. Althea giggles and fumbles with the doorknob, before a hand on her waist gently begs her to turn back around. She lets herself get turned by Barb, and suddenly they’re close, _so close,_ and she sees herself reach up and put her hands around Barb’s neck. Her chapped lips are warm, the rest of her face cold. 

Althea pulls her closer by the collar of her shirt, down to her level, and kisses Barb like her life depends on it. 


	5. small talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Althea and Thistle have a talk. Barb wrestles with her feelings.

The dorm room door closes softly behind her. Ginger is already cuddled up in bed, surrounded by papers and pens. They fall off the bed as Althea passes, pacing around the room. Her heart and head are on fire, buzzing with excitement from kissing Barb. That’s all she wanted, wasn’t it? What if she’d ruined everything?

She leans back onto her pillows and lets a smile spread over her face. _First kiss._ Althea laughs to herself. _With a girl._ Not just any girl. _Barb._ Who would’ve thought? She doesn’t sleep that night. Hugging the blankets around her, she lets the memory replay in her head. Coldness seeps into her body and she watches the snow fall outside of her window.

 _Detention._ Her eyes snap open and she shoots up in bed. _I must’ve dozed off for a second._ Grabbing for her books, she taps out a text to Ginger and races towards the library. Thistle sits at one of the tables, twirling a pen between her fingers.

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, we do.” Thistle leans forward. “I’m sorry for kissing you. I just-”

“No, I’m sorry for totally icing you out. That wasn’t fair to you.”

“Oh.” The other girl sits back, flicking her blonde hair off of her shoulder. “It’s okay. We were both just kind of shaken up, I think. Who knows, maybe in another time we’d be together. But for now, I think-”

“Friends?”

“Friends.”

Althea grins at her and Thistle laughs. The two of them look up as Barb enters the room. Althea’s eyes search her face, but Barb doesn’t look at her. She slings her bag down in the back of the library and disappears into the rows of shelves.

“What’s up with _her?”_

“Uh...well, I kissed her, and-”

“Damn, Song. You’re a player.”

“Not on purpose!”

“You didn’t kiss her on _purpose?_ ”

“Okay, I did...but I feel so bad. It’s all weird between us now.”

“You have to talk to her.” Thistle stands up and peers towards the bookshelves. Althea tugs her back down nervously. “Come on, otherwise it’s going to be weird forever.”

“You’re kind of right, I guess.”

The two of them sit in silence before getting their books out. The detention proctor is conspicuously missing, and Barb reappears with her headphones on. She sits at the table farthest away and Althea stares at her, willing her to look up. Their eyes meet for a split second and Barb busies herself in her work again. Sighing, Althea puts her bag over her shoulder and marches out of the library.

When she gets back to her dorm room, she groans in frustration. At least she’d made amends with Thistle, but Barb still wouldn’t talk to her. Thunder clouds roll in overhead and she taps a text to Thistle on her stone of Farspeech. Maybe she and Ginger could-

A slamming sound comes from the door. Reaching up, Althea stares through the peephole. Ginger has her back against the door, and she’s kissing someone, and it’s-

“Thistle?” Althea opens the door and the two of them tumble inside.

“Oh, hey, Althea. Uh, I didn’t know-”

“You’re home?” Ginger pats herself down and straightens her back, trying to save face. Althea quirks a brow at Thistle, who shrugs and puts an arm around the shorter girl’s shoulder.

“Are you two-”

“Yeah.”

Ginger’s face flushes and she pushes Thistle out of the room, waving goodbye. She shuts the door and smiles sheepishly at Althea. _How many gay girls are in this school?_ Althea smiles back and the two of them collapse onto the bed together. Ginger talks her ear off and Althea pads towards their little refrigerator. She grabs some Oreos and Ginger munches on them enthusiastically. The two of them fall asleep late into the night, with content hearts, and Althea thinks about how lucky she is to have friends that care about her.


End file.
